Being a startup founder is hard, tough, frustrating and rewarding - possibly all within the space of a nanosecond. And yet, it is like a high none other. I have experienced it in others. And quietly, I have lived it for over six years. Here are some lessons I learned from my journey. They may not be universal, but these lessons learned have changed me both as a person and as a founder

1. Lessons Learned
Evolution of a Founder
@om

2. Starting it up

3. What makes you happier?
Writing for GigaOM or
Business 2.0

4. The founding principles

5. 1. Be self aware of your
strengths and weakness.
2. Be transparent and honest
with those whom you work
with.
3. Be respectful and decent to
others, if you want others
to be decent and respectful
to you.
4. Build a true, peer-to-peer
management culture.

6. Building, learning, evolving, improving

7. Openness is not just a word, it is a state of mind.

8. You need to have a truly flat organization and build an
open minded and cohesive team, that laughs together,
works together and learns to deal with adversity
together.

9. You have to walk before you run.
As a founder you can often don't understand the
gulf between your vision of the future and the
reality in which a business exists. It is important to
find the right balance between the two.

10. It is good to know what you as a
founder are good at, what you suck
at, and when you need help. And
sometimes that means replacing
yourself as the CEO.

11. Work hard to find the essence of your
company's culture, core strengths and
your way of thinking.

12. If you don't try, you don't fail.You don't
fail, you don't learn.You don't learn, you
have failed anyway.

13. Are you winning as a founder?

14. People who believe in you also want to
succeed. They will work better if you
encourage them, not micromanage them.
Empower them to win.

15. Real founder success is in making
yourself less important to the daily
working of the company.

16. Thanks!
om.co
@om